T&L ideas

Teaching a class where there is a child who suffers from learning difficulties who cannot call on the help of a teaching assistant can often be challenging, especially with large classes. Due to the large number of students who have a variety of barriers to their learning in our school it is not always easy to have one-to-one support available to them in lessons. A number of students require support in every lesson and more often than not they receive this, but on the odd occasion there maybe lessons where it is just not possible for a T.A to be present.

I had an idea which I thought would be able to help solve this issue and to help ensure that students who had these difficulties could access as much of the curriculum as possible without the support of a teaching assistant.

In my experience of working as a teaching assistant at Beaumont I have noticed that students who have learning difficulties (especially autism) react well to visual cues in lessons. I have noticed that if they can physically see what they might achieve by the end of the lesson then they are more likely to work productively. For this reason I chatted to two new members of staff who I knew taught groups where some SEN pupils were unsupported. We talked about the challenges that the students may face when accessing set tasks so we decided that it may be a good idea for me to produce some subject specific target sheets for a couple of students on a trial basis to see how the students responded to them.

So far these resources have worked especially well with one pupil in particular and it would be really interesting to see how these could help other pupils across the school who maybe do not always receive the support of a teaching assistant in their lessons.

The two members of staff who have used these are Megan Anderson in Geography and Hannah Fraser in P.E and they have given feedback on how they have worked in their lessons with certain pupils. This is shown below.

We have been using target sheets to focus KC both before and within lessons as she is without a teaching assistant in my lessons. There are various general targets that both Lewis and I have set for her to achieve during the lesson. After the lesson both she and I sit down and go through the targets and if we both agree that these targets have been met, we put a big green tick next to the target. We aim to have ticks in all of the boxes and if not, we work towards having them all in there by the next lesson. If all of the targets are met, a positive green slip is sent to her via her tutor tray to recognise the good effort and participation within the lesson.

Hannah Fraser, PE

The targets work really well for OS. It sets clear boundaries of my expectations of him in the lesson. He seems to like the sense of achievement at the end of the lesson if he gets all boxes ticked off. This works well for OS, as I don’t believe he appreciates the importance of school and education. He therefore needs small motivating factors and achievements throughout the day to ensure he is focussed and remains on task.

ML on the other hand, is less responsive to the targets. He is motivated to learn and understands the importance of applying himself in the classroom. He really wants to do well in geography and he is also interested in the subject. ML seems to work better with verbal prompts to ensure he stays on task, as opposed to a check list. This is perhaps easier for me in a year 10 group where the majority of students can remain on task and focussed for prolonged periods of time, this ensures I can ‘keep an eye on’ him and provide verbal prompts and further one-to-one explanation as and when required.

Megan Anderson, Geography

If you are interested in knowing anymore about this then please let me know. Either find me around school or contact me by email (lewis.wynne@beaumont.herts.sch.uk).

I am using some ideas from “Teaching Backwards”. I always plan my lessons with the end goal in sight. However, this book suggested getting students to audit where they are, as well as thinking about any previous knowledge they have, transferable skills etc. I made the attached sheet for my Year 9 class and will read their responses when I mark their books later this week. I am hoping that I will be able to provide some independent activities that support some of the areas that they have highlighted.

by Kyl Messios

I have been using Beaumont School resources to explore questioning across the key stages. I’ve been working from the Black Box and the Teaching and Learning blog. It has been brilliant to go through the wealth of ideas that other teachers suggested in the Questioning Quail inset activity, and I’ve tried out quite a few.

If this is the answer, what is the question?

This has been really useful, wherever I’ve applied it. I’ve tried it with Year 7, 10, and 13, and found that the result is consistent, regardless of year group of topic – the students are compelled to look at the answer from different angles and think much more deeply about it than they would with a straightforward ‘key question’ to start the lesson. This can be applied as a starter, but is just as effective as a plenary. Year 7s used it to identify and define subject specific vocabulary, while I used it with Year 10s as a way into a new scheme of work. Looking ahead, I plan to use it with Year 13s to get them identifying and creating exam questions based upon answers given.

Percentage correct

Quick and easy way of getting students to build upon, and add to, their own and others’ answers. This was put to good use in Year 9 and 10 evaluations.

I’m planning on trying out What’s in the Bag?, but just haven’t yet worked out what to put in the bag! I’ll keep you updated!

The principle of this group is to for members to experiment with new ideas and then share their experience with their colleagues and the wider teaching community. We draw on various resources on rotation. The aim is to celebrate and share approaches that can be used by staff in a variety of subjects easily within day-to-day teaching.

My task for term one was to focus on feedback, drawing on websites as a resource. I decided to experiment with my A2 Sports Psychology group. These students struggle with long answer responses and, as a result, their drive to improve their performance in this area can dip due to a lack in confidence; some feel that reaching higher grades is just not possible for them. When I have marked these responses in the past I have often found misconceptions in one or two aspects which have a significant impact on their final grade. Motivating this group to respond to my feedback independently is not easy. I feel this process is essential and I had been looking for a simple way to motivate them to do so.

During my research I found a post on www.teachertoolkit.com called ‘The Yellow Box’, which had been taken from The George Spencer Academy. Employing this strategy allows the teacher to mark a section of work in great detail, highlight that to the student via the yellow box. Feedback is then provided, focusing on the work in the yellow box only. The hope is the guidance given will have a positive impact on the entire piece of work without the teacher having to mark to entire piece in detail.

I have employed this method in a different way to meet the needs of my group. I have been marking the entire long answer questions as per normal. Instead of asking students to re-write or apply my feedback to the entire response which can be demotivating for a student who struggled to complete the work in the first instance; they only re-write the work highlighted in the yellow box in response to my feedback. Students approach responding to my feedback more readily, they are learning to identify areas within long answer questions that have a significantly negative impact on the entire piece and the work they produce in response to my feedback is focused on quality not quantity. This also saves me time when remarking work; in most cases the work in the yellow box that has been re- written by the students increases the grade of the piece, and also increases the confidence of my students when approaching a difficult aspect of assessment in this course.

Over the next few weeks other members of Nat’s focus group will feedback on everyday ideas that they have tried and tested. Keep checking back for more ideas!

December at Beaumont started with a flurry of gifts from Santa. Each teacher picked a present from Santa’s helpers and was given the challenge to use their present during a lesson in December. Below includes some of the wonderful ways these presents were used and includes a range of ideas which can be applied to other lessons and other subjects.

Present: coloured stars

In music the bright coloured stars were used in essay planning. The big stars represented the basic points, the small stars were used for examples and the medium stars were used for other aspects that would make the essay successful e.g. structure. With the spare starts the students played guess the composer!

Present: clothes pegs

In a Biology Year 12 class students had 3 pieces of coloured paper and wrote down a question on each worth 1,2 or 3 marks. Students used the clothes peg to peg the questions on the line. Students then picked a set of questions form the line and answered the questions on the back of the pieces of paper. The questions were returned to the original student and marked.

Present: masks

In Maths the teacher explained to the class that the mask was a symbol of showing that the person is scared from Maths. So, instead of hiding behind the mask the students were encouraged to join in and be at his or her best.

Present: slingshot and £10 note napkins

In German students had to hit a number on the grid then go to the numbers on the floor and write the most extended sentence they could in German on that topic. Four £10 notes were given to the longest answers that used everything we’d done this half term.

Present: a set of coloured pens

In Literacy Support the coloured pens were used by the students to improve and comment on a piece of written work. The green pens were used for ‘polishing’ and to add punctuation, the red was used to highlight a brilliant opening or use of key words and blue to identify connectives. The pink pen was used to identify something the students needed to work on.

Present: bubbles

In Science the bubbles were used to explain the process of convection.

Present: mini cups and medals

In Music the mini cups and medals were awarded to students who had completed the best improvisation.

Present: a X-ray poster showing parts of the body

In Spanish the poster was used for revision of body parts. Students wrote down the key body parts on Post-it notes and then came up to the poster and stuck them on in the correct place.

Present: a ball of wool

In English the ball of wool was used to represent the connections between different events in the text (Bog Child). The web allowed students to identify some insightful interpretations and enabled them to understand the complexities of the text.

Present: a tub of Playdoh

In Science the Playdoh was used by Year 11 to model enzymes.

Present: Pom Poms

In Year 8 Spanish the students had written poems about their teachers and subjects. When they were read out the students shook the pom poms every time they said something which touched on the grammar they had been learning in the last two lessons.

Present: £20 note napkins

The notes were used in Maths to help with a lesson calculating percentages. The students had to complete a variety of exercises working out the different percentages of £20 and the napkins were given as prizes.

Beaumont recently held it’s first Bring and Brag as part of a Teaching and Learning INSET. The idea is simple; every member of staff brought along an idea that could be easily explained in one minute, and the room was set up as a speed dating activity. In all, staff swapped ideas with around 10 other people and took away loads of new ideas! It was great to see everyone talking so enthusiastically about their own ideas, as well as making notes on what everyone else had to offer.

In between the two speed dating sessions, there was also a chance to have a look at the work that the Teaching and Learning team has been up to so far. Focussing on marking, two display boards were set up based on examples of great marking and ideas for reducing marking workload, and staff could also have a look at the numerous books laid out around the room. Andy Gray also set up a station demonstrating some of the new ideas for using technology in classrooms that will hopefully be adopted.

As an exit pass for the INSET all staff filled in a slip asking them two questions about what ideas they will take away from the session, and if there are any strategies for marking not already featured. Look out for a blog post on these ideas in the future.

Today, in a special Teaching and Learning briefing, the members of the Teaching and Learning Team introduced themselves and their roles for the year. Read on to find out more about the various foci of the team, and how Beaumont staff can get more involved with T&L.

Bring Your Own Device and New Technologies

Andy Gray

Role

To share and demonstrate ideas on how mobile devices and ‘new technologies’ can be used to enhance and extend Teaching and Learning at Beaumont.

Aims for 2015 – 2016

Create a document/booklet containing examples of apps, websites and platforms, categorised according to the following key areas of Teaching and Learning: feedback, assessment, revision, differentiation and collaboration and communication. Ideas have been (and hopefully will continue to be) submitted by a wide range of Beaumont staff.

Seek feedback from departments with regards to which apps, websites and platforms they wish to utilise/learn more about. Find time in department meetings and/or INSET to demonstrate and provided training.

Explore the use of Google Apps for Education, including Google Classroom (with James Goddard). Google Classroom serves as a platform for teachers to create and organise assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently and easily communicate with their classes. Works alongside Google’s popular suite of productivity and storage applications.

Set up a working group to test and feedback on the effectiveness of Google Apps for Education and Google Classroom. This is currently in its early stages of testing – more details will follow on how and why to get involved.

New Ideas for Everyday Teaching

Nat Moody

Role

To form a working party to experiment with new ideas, and then share their experience with colleagues and the wider teaching community. The group will draw on various resources e.g. T&L library, colleagues to get new ideas, and use them within lesson where appropriate once every term.

Following the trial of the new ideas, members of staff will be asked to write a review (in which they should provide some context of the lesson and group) which can be shared via the T&L blog, Bring and Buys, resource board and possibly through Heads of Subject.

Higher-Level Thinking and Challenge

Fiona Pinkerton

Role

Development and research of new strategies to encourage students’ higher-level thinking, and to challenge them in the classroom. To provide resources, ideas and support for Beaumont teachers to allow them to implement new strategies in the classroom and in lesson planning, with the main aim being to support students in gaining a better understanding of how they learn.

Aims for 2015-2016

Meet with a group of teachers, across a range of subjects, to introduce ideas and feedback from students so far, with the aim for Beaumont teachers to then trial their preferred ideas in the classroom. Meeting:5/10/15 in Lab 42.

During the course of the year I will email those teachers who attended the above meeting with resources, new things to trial out and to check in and see how things are going.

During the year there will be a following two meetings in the Spring term and Two in the summer term. This will provide an opportunity for the group to discuss and share successes and failures.

There will also be opportunities during the year for the group to observe one another; this will allow teachers to see how strategies are implemented differently in different classrooms.

I hope that collectively during the course of the year we will collate resources and ideas, and make improvements to these strategies in order to share them with the rest of the staff.

What students are saying so far

“When Miss Pinkerton showed us some of these learning methods it helped me to understand what is going on. It is not all in the teachers’ hands. It’s given me a sense of control over my own learning.” Niamh (Year 12 Chemist St Michaels Garston)

“Using the hexagons helped me to understand how to link the ideas together. It enabled me to answer the harder question and get full marks.” Will Mattin (Year 10 Chemist Beaumont)

“The hardest questions in the exams are the ones that seem to have nothing to do with what we have learnt. When Miss used the cause and effect map to break down what I needed to put in my answer, I started to make the links and finally understood what the question wanted me to answer.” Amy Cowan (Year 9 Beaumont)

Smarter Marking and Assessment

Fiona Rosler

Role

To examine and apply various time-saving marking strategies to try and reduce workload of marking, whilst still providing enough feedback for students to progress.

Aims for 2015-2016

Trial various marking and assessment strategies with my own classes to examine any advantages or disadvantages.

Look at examples of marking from other departments to examine what works best for specific subjects. Departments will be contacted about this in the coming weeks.

Provide ideas and advice at the November INSET to help staff to find a system that will work for them and which fits around their schedule.

Collect feedback and opinions from a variety of staff and subjects to help advance these ideas throughout the year.

Developing Numeracy Skills

Fiona Rosler

Aims for 2015-2016

For all students to be able to understand and work with numbers in any subject. They should recognise when it is necessary or appropriate to use their numeracy skills and be able to apply these skills in various contexts outside of the Maths classroom.

This will be achieved by:

Working initially with the Science, Geography and PE departments. Heads of Department have already been contacted.

Looking at areas on SOWs which already involve numeracy and examining how/when these topics are taught – are they consistent with maths lessons?

Attending department meetings for these subjects to discuss teaching methods and consistency with methods and keywords.

Running Maths Week activities as last year.

To get involved, please speak to the member of the team responsible for each focus.

The first Beaumont Teaching and Learning Bring and Buy of the year took place last Monday during lunchtime. Fiona Rosler organised the event and asked staff to send some of their tried-and-tested resources. Everyone who visited the Bring and Buy made a shopping list of resources to test out, and placed their Beaumont Buck next to their favourite resource. The resources available ranged from PE to Languages, from Art to Science and all subjects in between, and covered revision, differentiation, marking strategies and much more.